“The Backbone Trail has been a 40-year labor for elected officials, parks agencies, volunteers and philanthropists.

“The Backbone Trail shows what a dedicated community can do if they set their minds to it,” said David Szymanski, superintendent for the SMMNRA, in a statement provided by the NPS. at Will Rogers State Historic Park in honor of National Trails Day. The completed trail will officially open on Saturday, June 4, with a grand opening celebration scheduled from 9 a.m. “The property, valued at more than $500,000, represents the single largest private donation for the Backbone Trail.” “One of the key actions to complete the trail was the generous donation of a 40-acre parcel of land in Zuma Canyon by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and fitness entrepreneur Betty Weider,” the NPS wrote.

The creation of the trail - 60 percent of which belongs to Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) - has been described as a dream “decades in the making.” The final puzzle pieces came from the acquisition of parcels from a fire road called Etz Meloy Motorway, as well as a donation from former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and American bodybuilder and fitness entrepreneur Betty Weider, according to information provided by the National Park Service (NPS). Beginning this weekend, for the first time since the trail began to be stitched together out of old ranches and public land nearly 50 years ago, the Backbone Trail, a 67-mile hiking route that winds through Malibu’s backyard will be one continuous path.

Backbone trail dedication